Firearm Owner’s Legacy Letter of Instructions

Do you have highly trusted close relatives or friends who would know what to do with your firearms, ammunition, and assorted gear when you die? 

Have a couple of them agreed to take on that responsibility? 

Have you made sure that your executor and heirs know to go to them when that time comes? 

What details should you put in a letter of instructions on how to dispose of your armory when you die? 

You have a will, right? (Please say yes; be truthful!) You might have a revocable living trust, a gun trust, or both, too. (If you don’t know why these are great, ask a local estate attorney.) But if you do not have a separate gun trust, your executor and successor trustees will need details about what to do with your guns and gear. This reality hit us when my wife had to dispose of her recently deceased brother's safe full of guns (without the combination, of course). 

Why Write an Instruction Letter?

Consider an instruction letter to supplement your will and trust documents. As estate laws are different in each state, it is essential to work with your lawyer in your state to link this letter properly into your will and trusts. Regrettably, heirs and other family members do fight over stuff. The way to deal with such fights is in the courts. Having your instruction letter recognized as enforceable under your will and trusts will make life much easier for your heirs. 

I’m in my 70s, healthy, exercise three times a week, an active firearms instructor, and taking university classes to keep my mind agile. At the same time, I can tell my memory is not what it was even 10 years ago. With that context, my wife and I are working on a letter of instructions for her, my executor, and heirs on exactly what to do with my guns and gear when I die. In addition, should my family (particularly my wife) properly determine I am no longer mentally or physically safe to handle guns, they can act using this letter. 

What Documents to Prepare

We are preparing three documents: a letter of instructions, an inventory, and instructions for the safes sealed in an envelope. We will give copies of the first two to a selection of trusted family and friends, and the last to a limited number within that broader group. If you follow this program, be sure to give copies of all three to any estate planning lawyer you hire to store with their copy of your will. 

What should be in each of the documents? 

Letter of instructions, Dated and SIGNED.

1. In order, who needs to act based on the letter, starting with the spouse or executor.
2. Specific instructions on who should and who should not be given access to any firearms.
3. Who has copies of the letter and inventory.
4. Who has copies of the letter, inventory, and safe instructions.
5. Who you designate to receive specific items in the inventory (guns, ammunition, gear, etc.) as gifts or bequests.
6. Guidance on how to dispose of the guns.
   • How to match cases and holsters with the guns to prepare for transfer.
   • Local gun shops that can take items on consignment. Personally, I prefer local gun shops, but many large sporting goods stores can handle this, also. Include a note that those shops cannot usually deal with your stored ammunition, but they may have advice on how to deal with the ammunition.
   • Information on local estate sales companies that may be able to assist in the sales. Details will vary by state due to Federal and state laws.
   • Information on local transfer procedures, reminder of no transfers across state lines, when and how to use a Federal Firearms Licensed dealer to handle the transfer, and especially if your state has a Universal Background Check law how to comply.
7. More general advice on disposing of the rest of the gear, especially ammunition. You may have local membership ranges or instructors that can help out. 

Inventory, DATED and SIGNED.

1. List each firearm with make, model, description, caliber, serial number, location, and location of the bill of sale or receipt if you have it.
2. If the gun is registered with a local or state agency, details on the registration and how to properly transfer the registration to a new owner.
3. If you have any suppressors/silencers or guns licensed with ATF as Federal Firearm Act (FFA) items, give details. (And ask your lawyer about a gun trust!)
4. Summary of ammunition on hand with calibers, location, and approximate quantity.
5. Holsters, associated with specific guns, with locations.
6. Cases associated with specific guns, with locations.
7. Cleaning & maintenance gear and instructions, with locations.
8. Targets and practice gear like shotgun clays and flingers.
9. Reloading gear and supplies. 

Safe information, sealed in a marked envelope.

1. Make, model, description, serial number, location, and location of each gun safe and lockable storage box.
2. Combination for each safe and location of keys.
3. Instructions for changing the combination on each safe.
4. Suggestions on whether to keep or dispose of each. (For example, we are recommending that the large safe convey with the house when sold.) 

Finally, remember to update the inventory every time you get a gun or dispose of one, or your list of key people changes, and send the new copies to everyone on this action list. Your lawyer can tell you whether you have to incorporate the inventory and safe information into the will and trusts. 

A special thanks to fellow ShootingClasses.com instructor and lawyer Deron Boring, 1791 Training for his contribution on this article.

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